Boryana Rossa's Bootleg Garden

Boryana Rossa's Bootleg Garden

Gallery 111, West Hall

May 19, 2011 4:00 PM - May 26, 2011

Bootleg Garden is
a research based art project by Boryana Rossa, Ph.D. candidate in electronic arts, that examines the impact of biotechnology on
global food production and local markets in Bulgaria. This projects might
illuminate issues of the relationship between local and global food markets not
only in this country, but elsewhere.

Bulgaria is well known agricultural
country. But nowadays, the fruits and the vegetables sold at Bulgarian markets,
including the ones traditional for the country, like tomatoes, cucumbers and
celery, are imported from Turkey, Greece, Italy, Peru, Sweden etc. Very few of
this production, especially in the big cities is local. The shift in the market appeared after the country opened
itself for the global market and for importing highly industrialized and
genetically modified production. Simultaneously Bulgaria reduced the protection
for local producers, which resulted in mass strikes from representatives of
their unions. The country's policy put in danger the Bulgarian
agriculture, which could not compete with the state protected farmers in other
countries within the framework of the open market.

As a result people are alienated not only
from their well crafted agricultural tradition, but from their food. The seeds
from the food they eat for centuries are not for use any more. The food comes
only from the supermarket. One has the feeling that it has been "produced"
there, within its steel and plastic walls.

With her project Rossa tries to symbolically re-establish the
relationship between people and food, seeds, fruits and agriculture. In this re-established relationship food, people and food
production are connected directly, without the mediation of big corporations
and global markets.

The installation documents her activity in a humorous way,
displaying photographs and video within a mural.